Design Your Own Emote!

[bean19]

Gods & Heroes (http://www.godsandheroes.com), an upcoming MMORPG set in mythical Rome and the most awared MMORPG from this year's E3, has announced a contest (http://community.godsandheroes.com/2006/07/design_your_emote_animation_co.html) where they invite participants to design an emote for the game.

For those unfamiliar with emotes, they are text commands that players can input to get their avatars to perform an in-game animation. For example, typing /nod in most MMOs would cause your character to nod.

All you have to do is submit your desired emote and a description of the animation in order to be considered entered. The Gods & Heroes team will narrow it down to the top 25 entries and you and your peers will vote on the final 10 emotes. These 10 emotes will be animated and added to Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.

The 10 winning emote animations will be added to the game and posted on the official website with the winners name. Winners will also receive Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising t-shirts as well as access to the Public Play Test.
I've played MMORPGs since The Realm and I've never seen a contest where the devs have let the community impact the game this much. If you enter, be sure to tell us what you suggested here as well.

[MasterEvilAce]

Uhh.. how is designing an emote (an animation, really) a giant impact to a game?

[Steele Johnson]

I'm getting an internal error when trying to register on the forum. Oh well. My emote was going to be "flipping the bird". That's one that I wish were in other mmorpgs I've played.

[Skytram]

/buttscratch :D

[TrackZero]

This is one of the most bizzare contests I've ever heard of.

[zyzyx]

One word:

/goatse

[Abednigo]

This is one of the most bizzare contests I've ever heard of.

My thoughts exactly. How many emotes could there possibly be? And will this MMO even be popular enough to gain the attention to make winning the contest worth it?

[51|RandoM]

I've played MMORPGs since The Realm and I've never seen a contest where the devs have let the community impact the game this much. If you enter, be sure to tell us what you suggested here as well.

There is zero impact from this. They'll pick the same generic emotes they were going to use in the first place.

/ymca


hmm, I remember playing a game with that emote, what was it, EQ? AC?

[Expugnare]

/copafeel

The following errors occurred when this message was submitted:

1. The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.

[bean19]

There is zero impact from this. They'll pick the same generic emotes they were going to use in the first place.

/ymca


hmm, I remember playing a game with that emote, what was it, EQ? AC?

Yeah, well the winners are selected by the community. . . but if you don't think getting to choose emotes in a game is impactful then, you know, whatever. . . mileage varies.

Sure, emotes are just bells and whistles, but what other MMO has let players impact the game this much in a contest?

Btw, cool emote. :)

[Demo_Boy]

"I've played MMORPGs since The Realm and I've never seen a contest where the devs have let the community impact the game this much. If you enter, be sure to tell us what you suggested here as well."

Then you haven't been following the games very closely. Try D&D Online -- Soloing added by popular demand.
Planetside, new weapons and vehicles by player demand.
Lots of COH stuff was by player demand, until ED, then mostly everyone quit.
the list goes on.. .

[bean19]

My thoughts exactly. How many emotes could there possibly be? And will this MMO even be popular enough to gain the attention to make winning the contest worth it?

Well, as I said it was the most awarded MMORPG of E3 2006 (http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/79264). Also, it is being designed by Stieg Hedlund. He's well known for his work on such titles as Diablo, Diablo II, and Starcraft. Maybe you've heard of them?

[bean19]

Try D&D Online -- Soloing added by popular demand.
Planetside, new weapons and vehicles by player demand.

None of these examples are nearly as direct. . . also, Planetside adding new weapons and vehicles is pretty obvious. . .

The DDO example though, I hadn't heard about that. . . Can you still get to max level in about three weeks and then have nothing to do? That game had bigger problems than adding or not having solo content anyway.

[DaedalusFolly]

You have slain a Clay Golem.

/teabag Clay Golem

[51|RandoM]

DDO isn't a MMORPG and you can get to max level in a week if you already know the game.

I beta'd DDO, and really liked it, but there just wasn't enough content to last past the initial month. Their adherence to AD&D also grossly imbalanced the characters somewhere between 6th and 10th.

We were doing the high level 'RAID' instance with 4 players and it took us 15 minutes per run. PK, invis, resistance to fire, lockpicking, and debuffs for the win. Went from lvl 7 to lvl 9 doing only that, lol, in one day.

[Demo_Boy]

what is pk again?

[Banacek]

Um, why are people still planning MMORPG's in which you have to type to communicate? It makes no sense.

[niakori]

>.>

Anywho.... I remember the /ymca in AO for sure.

[bean19]

Um, why are people still planning MMORPG's in which you have to type to communicate? It makes no sense.

Because different guilds have their own solutions for voice-chat and those MMOs that have used voice-chat: DDO, Auto Assault, and Planetside - have most players eschew it's use in favor of talking with their guild via a 3rd party voice server.

They've discussed adding voice to the game, but that's really it. . . It is a feature that adds a lot of complexity in order to get it working on all types of different systems, and then it is underused by players. . . why spend your pre-release development time on a feature that most players don't want or need when it could be used elsewhere?

Besides, people who use voice-chat still use emotes. . . they are novelties.

[Soap]

/ceasar
/brutus
/ettu

I'm sure these have been offered but what the hell.

[Roc Ingersol]

how about /handshake?
hell - i'll settle for /highfive

frankly the entire fuckin niche is in desperate need of animations that actually result in interaction with other avatars. It's gettin awfully lame watching each avatar do it's own thing independent of the world around it.
It starts with /handshake or /tango - but the real goal would be for combat to be more than watching 2 models cycling through their 'attack' animations.

[SexualChoc]

/yougotserved

'Nuff said.

[51|RandoM]

what is pk again?

When talking about DDO, PK is Phantasmal Killer. They'd already tweaked it to be less effective vs. boss mobs, but we just debuffed the boss mobs and buffed the casters.

Sad thing was, you can get PK wands, so you don't even need a caster for it.

That very nasty Beholder blocking your path? Boom, PK, goodbye.
The boss at the end? Boom, PK, goodbye.

We just had to keep the PK person alive long enough to get PK to stick. The beholder had a nasty habit of killing the PK guy after he was already dead due to a particular bug. We just rezzed him and kept on going.

AD&D, you become a serious badass around 7th or 8th.

Phantasmal Killer:
Illusion (Phantasm) [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Saving throw: Will Disbelief, then Fortitude Partial
Description:Creates a phantasmal image of the most fearsome creature imaginable by forming the fears of the enemy's subconscious mind into something that its conscious mind can visualize. The target must make a Will Saving throw to disbelief the illusion, if he fails then enemies must make a Fortitude save or die from fear. A successful Fortitude save still results in 3d6 negative energy damage.

Now the question would be what is the thing an Elder Beholder fears most? Maybe a giant ragweed bush? A big finger? A sharp looking eyelash? Tear gas? I won't even mention the Storm Giant.

[Captain Awesome]

/ass2mouth

[Zurik]

The DDO example though, I hadn't heard about that. . . Can you still get to max level in about three weeks and then have nothing to do? That game had bigger problems than adding or not having solo content anyway.

You can still break your +5 weapons as easily as a crappy basic sword and it'll cost you tons of gold for repairs.

[51|RandoM]

You can still break your +5 weapons as easily as a crappy basic sword and it'll cost you tons of gold for repairs.

I had a +3 holy rapier of ooze bane. Lol, using that on oozes was not wise.

[PIPBoy3000]

Interactive emotes are the dream of most RPGers. They're also the most difficult to implement.

[Banacek]

Because different guilds have their own solutions for voice-chat and those MMOs that have used voice-chat: DDO, Auto Assault, and Planetside - have most players eschew it's use in favor of talking with their guild via a 3rd party voice server.

They've discussed adding voice to the game, but that's really it. . . It is a feature that adds a lot of complexity in order to get it working on all types of different systems, and then it is underused by players. . . why spend your pre-release development time on a feature that most players don't want or need when it could be used elsewhere?

Besides, people who use voice-chat still use emotes. . . they are novelties.

I don't play MMOs so I got to ask: why would it be underused? If the whole point of the game is to be social experience, then wouldn't voice be important? I'd much rather just talk to someone then type something out.

[Ernst_Jager]

/fingerpull

[insidious]

/ridethepony

[lowlevel]

/massivedamage

Causes character to get into crabwalk position and you may move around in that manner for 10 seconds.

[51|RandoM]

I don't play MMOs so I got to ask: why would it be underused? If the whole point of the game is to be social experience, then wouldn't voice be important? I'd much rather just talk to someone then type something out.

It is because you're roleplaying. Pimply teenagers do not sound like dwarf paladins. Hairy Bob from Queens doesn't sound like a Valkyrie.

If I'm reading text, my imagination supplies the appropriate voice. If I'm listening to somebody who doesn't sound even remotely like how I expect their character to sound, it is annoying throws me out of the experience.

On top of that, I don't feel like going to each person's house and setting up their gear so it doesn't sound like they're swallowing their mic. I really don't need to hear them munching on chips, their kids screaming in the background, or every dew burp.

[captainstrombosis]

I don't play MMOs so I got to ask: why would it be underused? If the whole point of the game is to be social experience, then wouldn't voice be important? I'd much rather just talk to someone then type something out.

It's underused because MANY guilds have multiple "chapters" across different games. So they use Ventrillo/Teamspeak/Etc.. So they can then communicate with anyone. Rather than with just the people in game. Not to mention, you can't censor voice chat. So if everyone ran around using voice chat, let's face it, people would be absolute idiots.

Voice chat should always stay optional.

[captainstrombosis]

It is because you're roleplaying. Pimply teenagers do not sound like dwarf paladins. Hairy Bob from Queens doesn't sound like a Valkyrie.

If I'm reading text, my imagination supplies the appropriate voice. If I'm listening to somebody who doesn't sound even remotely like how I expect their character to sound, it is annoying throws me out of the experience.

On top of that, I don't feel like going to each person's house and setting up their gear so it doesn't sound like they're swallowing their mic. I really don't need to hear them munching on chips, their kids screaming in the background, or every dew burp.

This too ;)

[Manzy]

/whythehelliseveryoneputtingtheiremotesinthisthread insteadofsubmitting themforcontest

Animation: An apple appears out nowhere, decides its perfectly comfortable with its random existence/creation, and proceeds to perform expirements on a quantum level upon a rare worm only found in the small intestines of 8.5^-35 % of the human population (cumulatively) throughout all of mankind's existence. One of these human's names was Jesus Christ.

[lockwoodx]

/revealtruegender

[UnderHero5]

It is because you're roleplaying. Pimply teenagers do not sound like dwarf paladins. Hairy Bob from Queens doesn't sound like a Valkyrie.

If I'm reading text, my imagination supplies the appropriate voice. If I'm listening to somebody who doesn't sound even remotely like how I expect their character to sound, it is annoying throws me out of the experience.

Yeah, because people role-play in MMO's.
"<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Ride TehHumpins> STFU! USE THE TRADE CHANNEL ASSHOLE!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!"

Weee... role-playing!

[51|RandoM]

/theworldstiniestviolinplayingjustforyou

/itsyourfaultthepartywipedyouidiot

/nowedonthavetimeforyoutogomakeasandwich

[51|RandoM]

Yeah, because people role-play in MMO's.
"<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Ride TehHumpins> STFU! USE THE TRADE CHANNEL ASSHOLE!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!
<Dwarven Dildo> WTS +1 DIPSTICK PST w/ OFFER!!"

Weee... role-playing!

people do roleplay. Just because you spend your time in the city listening to drunken dwarven derelicts doesn't mean that is representative of the entire MMORPG playerbase.

I could just as easily say that all Americans are idiots who mangle the English language while pointing my finger at Bush, but that wouldn't be true either.

[UnderHero5]

people do roleplay. Just because you spend your time in the city listening to drunken dwarven derelicts doesn't mean that is representative of the entire MMORPG playerbase.

I could just as easily say that all Americans are idiots who mangle the English language while pointing my finger at Bush, but that wouldn't be true either.
Yes, but the thing is, the majority of MMO players DO NOT role-play. I've played enough MMO's to know this.
Some do, of course. I didn't mean to imply that no one role-plays. If you think MOST people RP then you stimply haven't played enough MMO's.

And I'm not talking about RP servers. In the non-rp servers (majority) very few role play.

Besides, it was a joke. Settle down.

[Zanzibar]

/fingerpull

God damn. Food in my mouth, now on my desk. Thanks.

[captainspankypants]

I bet 95% of the entries have something to do with masturbation, sexually abusing another player, or some kind of excretory bodily function.

My vote, if I cared: /stinkpalm (Mallrats reference)

[Roc Ingersol]

people by and large don't roleplay in massmogs.

of course, people by and large didn't roleplay with pen & paper games either.
Nothing to satisfy the anal roleplaying definitions people seem to have for online gaming.

[Expugnare]

how about /handshake?
hell - i'll settle for /highfive

frankly the entire fuckin niche is in desperate need of animations that actually result in interaction with other avatars. It's gettin awfully lame watching each avatar do it's own thing independent of the world around it.
It starts with /handshake or /tango - but the real goal would be for combat to be more than watching 2 models cycling through their 'attack' animations.
Guild Wars has /highfive.

[Roc Ingersol]

I bet 95% of the entries have something to do with masturbation, sexually abusing another player, or some kind of excretory bodily function.
well no shit.

You just described the entire breadth of human social interaction.

[Roc Ingersol]

Guild Wars has /highfive.
does it actually work?
or does your avatar just throw his hand up, whether or not there's anyone on the receiving end?

[Expugnare]

does it actually work?
or does your avatar just throw his hand up, whether or not there's anyone on the receiving end?
You can get it to work if both people type /highfive * while standing face to face. If you just do /highfive, you will just throw your hand up. But this can be used to smack people in the head so all is good.

[Deadend]

related to /highfive

/tooslow

and for the jerk who just screwed the pooch..

/strangle

it would be like Homer and Bart on The Simpsons.

[Ernst_Jager]

Anyone else find people that role playin in MMO's kind of creepy? I mean at first is it like yeah yeah you're a elf druid...pretty soon you are like...WTF we need to find someone to fill this guys spot in the group...

[captainspankypants]

well no shit.

You just described the entire breadth of human social interaction.
Masturbating, sexual abuse and pooping are the only nonverbal forms of communication that you recognize/utilize? I'm glad I've never met you in person.

[bean19]

I don't play MMOs so I got to ask: why would it be underused? If the whole point of the game is to be social experience, then wouldn't voice be important? I'd much rather just talk to someone then type something out.

I already told you. . . People already have their own solutions in 3rd party devices that guilds can set up just the way they want.

[Speed_D]

They should take a lesson from Spore and just have players design the animations with an editor and start using them in game.

[Rival]

I've played MMORPGs since The Realm and I've never seen a contest where the devs have let the community impact the game this much. If you enter, be sure to tell us what you suggested here as well.

Holy crap, you played The Realm? I am ashamed to admit I played that game briefly.

Don't fuck with Realm players. They're hardcore. The Realm is their life.

[Steele Johnson]

Well, as I said it was the most awarded MMORPG of E3 2006 (http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/79264). Also, it is being designed by Stieg Hedlund. He's well known for his work on such titles as Diablo, Diablo II, and Starcraft. Maybe you've heard of them?

The two games I'm really looking forward to: Gods and Heroes and Darkfall.

Darkfall sounds imazing. Imagine the UO game design with up-to-date 3d graphics and animation?? OMG! UO still has the best and most hardcore mmorpg gameplay out there. You can actually roleplay. Try roleplaying in any of the other mmorpg's... it's freakin' impossible.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

This thread is comedy gold!

/highfives for everyone!

My pick:

/cliffybgetsnaked

[Wasson_]

/chairmankagarabitingtheyellowpepperintheopeningseq ueceofironchef

[bean19]

They should take a lesson from Spore and just have players design the animations with an editor and start using them in game.

You should take a class in networking because your idea is stupid.

[UnderHero5]

You should take a class in networking because your idea is stupid.
And why is it so stupid?
It's implemented well enough in the game Second Life (which is an MMO game).

[bean19]

And why is it so stupid?
It's implemented well enough in the game Second Life (which is an MMO game).

Actually, good point. I guess they could make the game like Second Life where you can make your own emotes but no one can see them unless they also download them. . . Of course, 90% of the emotes would be amateur and crappy, and among the other 10%, about half of them would be sexual and inappropriate.

While this is possible, the downsides of making a really cool Indy "game" like Second Life is that it will never be mass-market for obvious design and logistic reasons: needing to control (censor) the content for appropriateness and quality, and needing to share the content with all users to make it work being cheif among them.

An interesting middle-ground approach to this is Hero's Journey. . . they are basically working on a game platform and then sending out the world builder to level designers who will then construct game content that players will select between. I'm not really certain of the details though I got a demo of it at E3, but that might have something like what you are looking for. . . It will be independent designers though. . . not complete chaos with every user having free rein to create game assets and push them out to every other user of the game.

[Steele Johnson]

Um, why are people still planning MMORPG's in which you have to type to communicate? It makes no sense.

Umm, what did you just do to communicate to us? Get it now?

[Banacek]

Umm, what did you just do to communicate to us? Get it now?

Yeah, because a message board and a MMORPG are so similar.

[Banacek]

I already told you. . . People already have their own solutions in 3rd party devices that guilds can set up just the way they want.

Yeah, but that's not a standard, so other people you come across can't talk to you, or you to them.

[bean19]

Yeah, but that's not a standard, so other people you come across can't talk to you, or you to them.

You are one of those people that read the answer and then ask the question in a different way over and over? If so, people hate you and don't respect you.

[saneman]

On the point about players making their own animations:

A system that might work would be for them to either release an editor, or maybe just enough files to allow people to edit the animations in some common/free application. Then allow regular submissions where the community votes on the animations, the developers review them and make sure they're workable in the game, and finally they go out in the next patch.

Role players would probably appreciate something like this.

[Banacek]

You are one of those people that read the answer and then ask the question in a different way over and over? If so, people hate you and don't respect you.

Are you one of those people that instead of answering someone's question, you make a lame attempt to insult them? You play games geared towards social interaction, then implement ways to avoid that social interaction. Typing is not the same as having a conversation with someone, and 3rd party servers limit who you can talk to.

[bean19]

Are you one of those people that instead of answering someone's question, you make a lame attempt to insult them? You play games geared towards social interaction, then implement ways to avoid that social interaction. Typing is not the same as having a conversation with someone, and 3rd party servers limit who you can talk to.

If you'll read it as criticism instead of as an insult then you can go back and read the many times this question has already been answered not only by me, but by other posters.

Simply insisting upon MMOs being stupid for not adding this feature despite the information you've been offered is annoying. If you disagree with the reasons, then state why. . . don't simply restate your question having ignored the answers that have already been provided (more than once in some cases).

[bean19]

On the point about players making their own animations:

A system that might work would be for them to either release an editor, or maybe just enough files to allow people to edit the animations in some common/free application. Then allow regular submissions where the community votes on the animations, the developers review them and make sure they're workable in the game, and finally they go out in the next patch.

Role players would probably appreciate something like this.

That's a really cool idea. :)